In September 2016, the Open Air festival “Rock im Bergbad” celebrated a successful
premiere in Buckeburg in Lower Saxony, Germany. In the unique backdrop of the
local mountain swimming pool, four high-profile acts performed in front of the
landscape panorama of Harrl and the Weser mountains. Auditiv GmbH, based in
Kassel, set up an Alcons LR18 pro-ribbon line array as technical service provider for
the event.
The line-up of the festival consisted of the former Genesis frontman Ray Wilson,
The Lords, the glamrock icons of Sweety Glitter & The Sweethearts and the local
hardrock hero Jabba’s Cortex.
For the sound of the approximately 35 by 55 meters large audience area, a setup of
nine Alcons LR18s per side was used in combination with two Alcons RR12s as near-
fills. The bass line was formed by six Alcons cardioid BC543 (3x 18″ each). Seven
Sentinel S10’s powered and controlled the system.
The compact LR18 3-way line source system combines the best possible sound
quality with a very high sound pressure level and long throw. By applying Alcons’
multi-patented pro-ribbon driver technology for mid / high frequency frequencies,
an ultra-fast impulse response with up to 90% less distortion is achieved. The LR18
offers a completely intuitive linear reproduction with excellent speech intelligibility
and uncompressed, absolutely faithful sound balance at any sound pressure level.
Timo Osterberg was on-site as the responsible sound engineer, took the PA into
operation and at the same time supervised the FoH of Jabba’s Cortex and Sweety
Glitter. As a solid FoH man from Sweety Glitter, Osterberg always has the same
desk and therefore can compare different sound reinforcement systems very well.
The special qualities of the Alcons system therefore occurred directly during the
sound check: “What can I say? Headroom, headroom, headroom – that’s what you
immediately notice. The stereo image was fantastic, stereo effects extremely
precise to locate. The low-mids of the LR18 are so convincing that I do not know
when and if I’ve ever heard such a detail. The bass was very clean and tight. Even
in very low frequencies, I could not detect any conspicuous resonances. ”
Because of these characteristics, the prescribed volume limitation to 100dB was not
a problem. The Alcons typical undistorted sound reproduction allowed to play on the
average at 98 dB and still be really loud.
Mathias G. Walter, associate of the organizer NORDHARRL-Concerts, is more than
convinced by what he heard in Buckeburg: “The entire concert was an absolute
listening pleasure due to the high-end technology of Alcons Audio, which even
enthusiastically inspired HiFi freaks! We are already looking forward to our next
event – preferably with the same technology and the same team. ”
More info on www.alcons.audio, www.auditiv.de and www.nordharrl-concerts.com.
